Have you ever reviewed the privacy settings on your Facebook account?

In general, the default settings on any Facebook account are quite open, meaning that everything you post is visible to anyone who might find your account.

Depending on your personal and business circumstances, you may want to make your Facebook account settings more restrictive than the default settings.

How do you do that? It’s pretty simple.

 

To Adjust Your Privacy Settings:

1. Click on the little cog wheel on the far right end of the blue menu bar at the top of your Facebook screen.
2. Several options will be visible in the drop down box.
3. Click on Privacy Settings.

Once you see the list of Privacy Settings, I suggest that you go through each of the options so you know what each does and can select the setting that’s best for you.

 

Based on questions I have received from clients, from students in my Facebook classes, and from people in general, there are certain settings I think you should give special attention.

 

Key Privacy Settings to Review

• Who can see your posts on Facebook? The default is “Public”, but “Friends” is somewhat more restrictive.
• Who can send you friend requests? Again, the default here is “Public,” but “Friends of Friends” may be a better choice as it will keep you from receiving friend requests from total strangers.
• Whose messages do I want filtered into my Inbox? To avoid receiving messages from random people, select the “Strict Filtering” option. This option means that, for the most part, you will receive messages only from people with whom you are already Facebook friends.
• Who can look me up on Facebook using the email associated with my Facebook account? The default is “Everyone,” which I do not recommend, unless you want to be found very easily on Facebook. If you are open to people connected to your Facebook friends finding you via your email address, click on “Friends of Friends.” If you want to really restrict who can find you this way, click on “Friends,” which means no one who is not already a Facebook friend can find you through your email address.
• Do you want other search engines to link to your Timeline (aka your personal Facebook page)? The default is no, so, unless you want to make it very easy for folks to find your personal Facebook account, do not place a check in the box.
• Do you want to block certain people on Facebook? If so, just go to the Blocking section and type their names into the appropriate space. Effective immediately, those people are no longer able to send you a friend request or follow you on Facebook.
• Do you want people to be able to follow you on Facebook? Most people will want to stay with the default option, which is no. If you do allow this, by checking the box, people can see all the activity on your personal Facebook page.
• Do you want to block requests to play games or use apps on Facebook? If so, just go to the Blocking section and type in the names of the people who send you these requests.
• Do you want to block all notices regarding your Facebook friends playing Facebook games? To avoid hearing about any of this activity, just go to the last section under Blocking and type in the names of the games and apps you don’t want to hear about.

 

How About You?

Which privacy settings are most important to you? Which ones have you changed over time? What bugs you the most about privacy on Facebook?

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 50 and up, to become more comfortable using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter.

She works with business owners, nonprofit organizations, retired people, consultants and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com